'Revolving door' open again?

Bond availability for drug suspects irks some

Aug. 29, 2013

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The Marion Star

Marion Police Department personnel process one of several suspects arrested on drug charges Tuesday morning. He was later transported to Multi-County Correctional Center. John Jarvis/The Marion Star

Still wanted

Thirteen suspects still wanted by police, including: • Jessica Binau, 36, 182 W. Columbia St., on one count of trafficking in cocaine • Jeremiah Bonsel, 25, 426 Davids St., on two counts of trafficking in heroin • Dan Bowleg, 41, 345 E. Church St., on two counts of trafficking in cocaine • Eli Brown, 35, 365 N. Prospect St., on three counts of trafficking in cocaine • John Conley, 43, 100 Arlington Ave., on three accounts of trafficking in cocaine • Darryl Dixon, 29, 957 Paula Drive, on one count of trafficking in cocaine • Anne Herr, 30, 336 Herderson Ave., Upper Sandusky, on one count of permitting drug abuse • Kevin Jackson, 22, 1303 Crescent Heights Road, on two counts of trafficking in heroin • Terry Layne Jr., 40, 430 Silver St., on one count of possession of heroin and one count of tampering with evidence • Sean Rogers, 50, 574 Oak St., on two counts of trafficking in cocaine • Lance Ross, 27, 248 S. Greenwood St., on three counts of trafficking in cocaine • Jeffrey Tiller Jr., 21, 542 Euclid Ave., on four counts of trafficking in cocaine • Richard Gregory, 22, 4155 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill., on five counts of trafficking in heroin Photos of these suspects, as well as those the drug task force has captured, are online at www.MarionStar.com. How to help

Anyone with information on these suspects or other drug dealers is asked to call the Marion Police Department at 740-387-2525 or the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 740-382-8244. Calls can be made anonymously to the TIPS line at 740-375-8477.

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MARION — One day after “Operation Revolving Door” ended, it became clear why the MARMET Drug Task Force’s latest project received its unique codename.

Marion County Clerk of Courts Julie Kagel said 19 of the 32 suspects arrested in Tuesday’s push against drug traffickers were out on bond as of Wednesday evening.

Indictments for many of the suspects were moved to Tuesday afternoon, instead of Friday, as originally planned, according to Judge Jim Slagle, with the Marion County Court of Common Pleas.

He said the change was made after a request by staff at the Multi-County Correctional Center.

The jail was having overcrowding issues as a result of bringing in more than 30 people in a matter of hours.

“They’re only allowed by court order to hold a certain number of inmates,” he said.

To those critical of the court’s decision to allow so many suspects back on the street, Slagle said it was a right of the defendants.

“Under the constitution, everyone had a right to have bonds set,” he said.

Slagle said the suspects, many charged with fifth-degree felonies for drug trafficking, would still have their day in court, and would serve time if found guilty.

“Their cases had not been adjudicated,” he said. “They’ll be scheduled for an attorney conference, pretrial, jury trial. At this point they’ve not been convicted. They’ve been charged.”

Maj. Bill Collins, with the Marion Police Department, said social media commentators dissatisfied that bigger operators were not brought in, reiterated investigations take time and detectives do a lot of work behind the scenes.

“We get frustrated neighbors who say ‘I’ve called this in four, five, six times, nothing’s happening,’ ” he said. “But we just can’t go do it right now. We may be in the middle of an investigation. We can’t just act at that point. Sometimes it takes time. We ask people to have patience with us. Certainly keep calling those tips in. Those are a huge help for us.”

As to when some of the bigger drug dealers in the community would be arrested, Collins, with a smile, said “you never know when that might happen.”

The 32 suspects were apprehended by the Marion Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday morning as a part of the MARMET Drug Task Force’s attack on drug traffickers in the county.

The search targeted 46 suspects after a six-month investigation into the illegal sales of drugs.